


Babylon

by MonsterAmongCashton (IfWallsCouldMuke)



Series: Icy Seduction of the Shadows [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: (meaning there's a god or two hitchhiking on some quasi innocent magicians' consciousness), (um so this is basically The Kane Chronicles), (vanilla af i am so ashamed), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Ancient Egyptian Deities, Cliffhangers, Gay Sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 22:59:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16251536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IfWallsCouldMuke/pseuds/MonsterAmongCashton
Summary: “I almost pity you,” Calum whispers back calmly. “Promising me things you can’t keep just to have me.”“That’s where you’re wrong, Cally,” the nickname alone forces Calum to bite back a moan. “I’m here because of a broken promise. I do not wish to stoop that low.”OR,the summary is vague af but there's a few twists in the plot.





	Babylon

**Author's Note:**

> As, I hope, some of you might have guessed, both on this pseud and my Muke one, some titles are based off the titles of YOUNGBLOOD tracklist. xxx

Calum doesn’t know _exactly_ the whole “hosting” shite works with the Egyptian gods, but he guesses the gods can choose whomever they please as their selected magician. It makes no damn sense, if one was to factor in the very obvious detail like how Calum is half-Scottish (Celtic at the best) and half-Kiwi (Maori, which loosely translates into his background being very, _very_ distantly Polynesian). But then again, gods have to expand, and he knows a few 1000% white magicians who were used as gods’ hosts, so there’s that.

 _Not to mention hated gods in Egyptian lore are depicted with white skin_ , Calum snickers inside his head. _Oh, and red hair. So… Scots in general? Aren’t I glad my mum’s genes are stronger with me now…_

Being half-Kiwi, he grew up reading Maori folklore and traditions. He isn’t too into some of the super-ancient-y rituals, but that’s nothing compared to his Celtic ancestors. At least the Celts started the whole “ward off the evil spirits by wearing silly clothes” tradition.

(Thanks, great-great-great-whatever-grandparents.)

“Yeah, I know, I’m talking shite about you quasi-directly,” Calum represses his urge to roll his eyes when he hears a coughing noise in his head. “Can you get out of my head for more than ten minutes? Pretty please?”

 _Maybe, a suggestion, you shouldn’t be standing so close to a_ tell _dedicated to me,_ the god in question snorts this time _. Also, Set was not as bad as you think. He just had a different view._

“I’ll give that a ‘fuck no’,” Calum _does_ roll his eyes this time. “I don’t think a lot of people think cutting a  body into zillions of little Osiris pieces is… having a different view, as you put it.”

 _Okay, maybe I don’t harbour ill-intent towards my… father_ , the god just sighs. _Why are you here again?_

“I wonder what a Sydney-native would be doing in a remote location in Egypt when he has an ancient Egyptian god’s conscious freeloading inside his head,” Calum rolls his eyes again. “My dad thought I was old enough to withstand the magical pressure were I to enter the sacred lands. I mean, I did the same with Uluru few months back.

 _Oh, don’t be a cocky little prick, Calum_ , Anubis makes a sound that can easily be compared to a dog barking. _I’ve been alive_ far _longer than you can count and I still make mistakes_.

“Like when you decided I’m a suitable host for you?” Calum jibes.

A holographic image of a _very_ attractive young man, at around early-twenties, with shaggy hair and piercing golden eyes manifests in front of the young magician. Calum wonders how much magic it’d require for him to hit this form of Anubis.

 _“_ Hi to you too, though I prefer you in my head, as opposed to actually glaring at me,” Calum beams at his patron god.

“Calum, we’ve been through this multitudes of times,” Anubis, the Guide of Souls to the Afterlife, the God of Embalming, isn’t as threatening when he gives what Calum always called a _puppy-dog face_. “We are supposed to work like a team.”

“And I humbly beseech you to stay inside my head so people don’t think I’m talking to myself as often as when you’re kinda physical so I have to talk out loud,” Calum retorts.

“You don’t take me seriously when I’m inside your head,” Anubis counters.

“I never once have taken you seriously. Not even when I was fourteen and you decided to invade my headspace,” Calum reminds the god.

“Your parents both knew you would become a host. Your sister is a host to Bastet,” Anubis smirks.

“Thanks for the reminder, Anubis. Really appreciate it. It just means I can’t ever adopt a dog as long as we stay hosts,” Calum grumbles just as Anubis laughs at him and returns to being an amorphous being inside Calum’s head.

_Today’s gonna be long…_

Taking a deep breath, Calum touches the _ankh_ on the brick and concentrates on his astral self.

 

///

 

“You shouldn’t be here,” a rather attractive voice echoes in the dimly lit passage that Calum’s astral self seems to have manifested in. “Don’t humans have better things to do than poking at the ruins?”

“Should I be insulted you called me a human when I’m not 100% human?” Calum has the audacity (stupidity) to retort.

The air in front of him shimmers before a form takes space. Granted, Calum is good at not jumping _(Calum, you just jumped a mile up in the air,_ Anubis snickers inside his head) when stranger materialises in front of him. The stranger _can_ ’t be 100% human either, with those fucking biceps and eyes that are just kaleidoscope of colours. This entity also looks like they have a darkish toned skin.

“Hi,” the attractive entity doesn’t look all that content to see Calum. “I’d ask how a magician _your_ age,” they sound bitter, almost disdainful, “can astral project, but you are also harbouring a piece of that dog.”

“I don’t think Anubis likes being called a dog,” _let me control your body for one minute! Just one minute!_ Calum can barely keep the god at bay. “What are you, some rabbit god?”

“I don’t consider myself a ‘god’, per se,” the entity’s eyes glow an eerie shade of yellow—almost serpentine. “But I do know how to detect a magician being stupid enough to enter the astral planes.”

“I’ll take that as a complement?” Calum arches his eyebrows.

“Mortals,” the entity snickers. “Your greatest flaw is your hubris.”

“Um?” is the last thing Calum manages to say before being forced back into his body.

 

///

 

And who was Calum to hope he’d get to sleep a dreamless one? He gets a vision of a slithering shadow all night long, whispering things like ‘ _the end is near’_ and ‘ _give in and I’ll let you live, young magician_ ’.

 _You’re being paranoid,_ Anubis reassures him as Calum brews himself a tea. _I see you got worse with age_.

“Thanks,” Calum checks how hot his tea is with a wrinkled nose. “You’ve known me for a grand total of four years.”

 _That demigod magician hated me but I couldn’t locate the source of their power_ , Anubis sounds annoyed. _Usually, demigod magicians should be powerful enough for a god like me to trace their godly parent._

“Unless the demigod in question is strong enough to mask their powers,” Calum supplies. “That bugger sounded like they’ve seen millions of sunrises and sunsets… like they’re disappointed in the way humanity is today.”

 _Like they’re sad that we don’t revere magic and gods like we used to_ , Calum adds silently, blocking the train of thought from his godly hijacker.

 _I don’t like being left in the dark, ignore all your voices saying jokes about me being a god from the Afterlife,_ Anubis adds quickly. _Also, eternal darkness, like the Serpent swallowing the sun is how the apocalypse always starts._

“Can you be a bit more cheerful? Like, be a normal young god and, I don’t know, ask me about cute guys I wanna go on a date with, when was the last time I had embarrassing boners, something that’s not about the end of the world?” Calum scoffs.

 _I’m pretty sure the last time you had an embarrassing boner was when you saw the magician in question_ , Anubis cackles. _I’d fall for those eyes too, Cal._

“They aren’t joking about gods having too much time on their hands—or paws—to be prudish about who they sleep with,” Calum decides to joke and lighten things up.

 _I’ll ignore the dog joke because you’re kind of right there,_ Anubis growls—lovely sound to hear before noon on a _Saturday_. _Didn’t you wake up early for some investigation?_

“I thought the magician might have left a trace I can study,” Calum wishes the god would not remind him of everything. “Like, a trace of magic I can collect and let you take over for _five minutes_ so you can detect something.”

 

“There isn’t a trace anywhere,” Calum seethes, huffing out a huge breath when he can’t find any damn trace of magic at the _tell_ he met the demigod. Or, the _tell_ he used to ascend to the astral planes. “How is that possible?”

 _The magician is far older than I originally anticipated_ , Anubis theorises. _They also said they don’t call themself a god, but never said anything about being a demigod either… and it is possible for magicians to be…_

“Anubis, I hate it when you trail off. It’s like a really badly written rom-com movie script,” Calum whines.

 _You know how Egyptians view as the end of the world?_ Anubis asks, a growl following his words.

“The Serpent,” Calum doesn’t like where this is headed.

 _It’s rare, but the Serpent can bestow an extent of its powers to a corrupted magician,_ Anubis sounds like he’s fidgeting. _If the magician is strong on their own to start with… it’s a bad recipe for the good people._

“That’s not what I like hearing in the morning,” Calum grouses. “I’m more of a ‘hey, Cal, you’re out of pineapple-mango juice so here’s a ten!’ kinda guy.”

 _You’re the only magician I had the pleasure of bonding with who has a taste for pineapple-mango juice,_ Anubis snorts.

“Google, how to an extract a god’s consciousness out of my head?” Calum groans.

 _An exorcist won’t help you, someone tried that once as a prank_ , Anubis reassures him.

“I know, I know, I’m stuck with you until you’re done with me… I thought our term was three years?” Calum squints at the newspaper that’s written in non-Latin alphabet.

 _You wish,_ Anubis sounds like he’s laughing. _The term is however long I need to figure out the imbalance of order and chaos_.

“Chaos…” Calum stares at his cooled-down tea. “Destruction and death everywhere… you just don’t want to overwork and guide all those souls to the Afterlife, do ya?”

Anubis snorts _very_ loudly. _I’m not a lazy god, Calum, not to mention I can appear at more than one places at any given time._

“I know gods do it. Some magicians can wield that power if we concentrate enough,” Calum takes his mug of tea to the veranda area. “But it’s how you wield any form of power that makes the difference.”

_You’re wise for your age, Calum Hood._

 

///

 

According to Anubis’ constant bitching, this is roughly where the ancient Babylonia was. Calum doesn’t want to know whether to feel honoured or not. It’s just another area of the desert for the magician. As a person who’s actually been to the Australian deserts, well, arid, windy places aren’t the young magician’s cup of tea.

“Why is it necessary for my hot piece of ass to be in this goddamn place? I got sand up my ass, and I don’t want to know how that happened,” Calum complains, readjusting the scarf so less sand particles would get inside his nose.

Calum crosses his arms in front of him when the God of Souls appears before him. He is less than impressed.

“I appreciate your help, really, Calum,” Anubis looks like he’s laughing at Calum’s misfortune. “To end it all, we must go to where it started.”

“Wasn’t Babylonia separate from Egyptian rules?”

“Yes, but any Mesopotamian gods in those pantheons are what we call sister-pantheons,” Anubis explains. “Kind of like how the Norse usually ally with Gaelic if necessary.”

“So, geographical gang-bang,” Calum summarises.

“If that’s the modern interpretation, so mote it be,” Anubis narrows his golden eyes. “Your… coined term is not in the central attention here. I thought you could borrow the ancient powers from this place and try to communicate with our least favourite magician.”

“And how do you suggest that?”

 

Maybe Calum shouldn’t ask questions that have obvious answers to. He finds himself back in the astral plane, and he wonders how Anubis did it. He doesn’t really want to know.

“Ah, I’m guessing that wretched dog wants you to find me,” the magician just appears out of nowhere, and Calum thinks he forgot how to breathe.

This time, he guesses the magician chooses the scenery, they’re stood facing the Nile River, with the setting sun. He’s sure as fuck this was intentional.

“You see, Calum?” Calum isn’t asking how the magician knows his name. “The sun always falls, and one day, He won’t rise back up.”

“You really do work for Apophis,” Calum whispers.

“Names have powers, Calum,” Ashton’s eyes glint an eerie shade of yellow as the gusts form around them. “Give in, baby. There’s plenty of room for both of us on the dark side.”

“Do you live here?” Calum voices a thought he was too afraid to form in the first place. “Do you not have a physical form in the mortal realm anymore?”

“Too keen,” the magician’s eyes are just twin battles between yellow and murky seaweed green. “Perhaps my Lord chose well.”

“I’m only chosen by one deity and that’s Anubis!” Calum tries to back away but cold, eerie tendrils coalesces to keep him immobile.

“You see, Calum,” the magician steps forward until Calum can see the insanity dancing in their hazel eyes. “I know you’re intrigued by me. Fascinated, even.” Shadowy outlines of the magician’s fingertips graze Calum’s cheekbone. “Everything fades into Shadows, and you won’t be the last one…”

Calum feels a mockery of a kiss on his lips before he’s yanked into his body.

 

///

 

“The magician still hasn’t said anything about being related to any god, yeah?” Anubis doesn’t look so pleased in his holographic form. “I don’t know why the Serpent would choose a magician with little to no trace of godly blood in them.”

“They didn’t say _anything_ about themself,” Calum corrects the god, fidgeting with the triple-gold wrist-cuffs—Egyptian style, of course—as he speaks. “All I know is that they don’t have a physical body left in the mortal realm.”

“You’re implying that the magician is dead but gained a form in the astral planes?” Anubis narrows his eyes until Calum can barely see the golden pupils.

“It’s a possibility someone weakened them enough to keep them from having a physical form,” Calum shrugs. “But death does sound like a good motivation to turn against humanity.” Anubis gives him a stare. “A powerful motivation to turn against humanity?”

“This magician will put a huge damper in the gods’ way of overseeing things,” Anubis looks into the horizon. “If I can find the exact way they died, you might be able to persuade them over to the good side.”

“Question: Why are you making _me_ change their mind?” Calum arches a curious eyebrow.

“I could see via your eyes when you were meeting them, Calum, I can read from their body language they are _more_ than a tad bit interested in you.”

 

///

 

Calum goes back to Cairo and meets up with a fellow magician there.

“I was told someone _responsible_ and _dashing_ would be here,” Calum curls his lips in a faux-distaste.

“Who are you calling irresponsible and not-dashing?” the other magician grins as he pulls Calum into a big hug. “Missed you too, ya prick.”

“I didn’t miss you at _all_ , Michael,” Calum rolls his eyes fondly before clapping the older magician on the back. “How’re your studies in England?”

“Can’t say I don’t miss the Australian sun,” Michael responds truthfully. “Look at me! I didn’t know it was possible for me to get paler!”

“I think it’s your dietary change, mate,” Calum rolls his eyes in a not-so-fond way this time. “Anubis says hi, by the way.”

 _I did not_ , Anubis complains.

“Ah, still hosting that bugger, aren’t ya?” Michael snorts. “Is he still not fond of me ‘cause I hosted Sekhmet for a few months?”

“Canines not liking felines, the usual bullshite,” Calum nods. “Apparently, your aura smelled like cats, which makes no damn sense.”

“I got called in for what, though, Cal?” Michael gives him a questioning look, combing his fingers through his freshly-dyed red hair. “I don’t leave my fiancé in our flat just for anyone, you nutjob.”

“You could’ve brought him here!” Calum counters.

“He hates planes, and he likes taking care of our plants,” Michael shrugs. “I’m gonna have a loud, obnoxious phone sex—”

“The Serpent has a host,” Calum breaks the news before Michael grosses him out any further.

“That’s unheard of,” Michael covers his mouth. “You know what that entails, right, Calum?”

“We have to maul the host very badly and bring them into questioning?” Calum tries.

“That too, but mainly hand them over to the gods so they can deal with the case,” Michael supplies.

 _That won’t happen, my friend_ , Calum jolts when he hears the magician’s voice laughing in his mind.

 

///

 

Calum likes sleeping.

Wait, maybe he should rectify that statement.

Calum like sleeping and dreaming of normal human things. Things like kissing cute boys (it’s a bonus point of they touch his butt) and looking at cute Labs or huskies.

But no, Calum’s life hasn’t been all that normal since Anubis jumped into his head and decided to live there without paying any rents, figuratively speaking. He keeps getting weird visions he’s much rather forget about.

“You know why you’re here,” the voice is so alluring, seeping into the darkest desires Calum has ever known. “You knew the risks of sleeping without any protection spells.”

“Maybe I _want_ to see you,” Calum states boldly. “Like you proclaimed, I’m intrigued by you, whatever your name is.”

“My name is irrelevant, host of Anubis,” the magician’s words glide like raindrops on a glassy surface. “What _is_ relevant is how much my Lord sees in you. Your untapped powers, most likely. You’re still young, uncorrupted by the brutality of the reality. You don’t see the world like I do.”

“What happened to you? It is our duties as magicians to keep the order stay balanced against chaos,” Calum can’t see in the dark, but that changes once a beam of light comes from above.

Calum wishes there was a way to physically remove something he’s seen, because the word ‘grotesque’ doesn’t do justice for what he’s forced to see.

The other magician’s eyes are dull, like life has just been drained out of them. The honey-golden colour that contrasts nicely with the forest green would be otherwise _stunning_. The ash-blond curls haloing their face are _magnificent. There’s_ a hollowed part on the magician’s quasi-golden chest, surrounding the wreckage are broken ribs. The rest of the body isn’t left unscathed, to Calum’s horror. There are symbols drawn on every inch of the skin, a symbol Calum quite can’t decipher.

“You see, Calum?” the Serpent’s host laughs humourlessly just as the light fades. “I was used as a sacrifice and they didn’t bother putting me under before… well… before carving my heart out. I was very much alive—on the outside anyways—when they started branding those symbols onto my body. The stench of burning skin disgusted me, but it disgusted me even more that I couldn’t do anything, primarily because they were my friends. Yes, Cal,” the magician snorts. “I had friends. They marked me, broke every part of my body, and the best part?” Stern, furious golden eyes bore into Calum’s frightened doe-brown ones. “One of them was my lover, and he told me he only got close to me so him and his friends could use my powers for their ritual.”

“I—”

“Save it,” the magician snarls, and Calum isn’t too sure how to feel about the fact that he can feel the heat radiating from the other, which can only mean that they’re both close together. “You’re gonna tell me that you’re sorry, and that it won’t happened to me again, but nonetheless, here I am. Stuck in the astral planes because I don’t have a physical body to return to in the mortal realm. Of course, I can try to possess someone, but that doesn’t bode well.”

Calum reaches his arms out and gropes the air until his fingertips can caress the dark magician’s cheekbones. He leans his head forward and whispers, “I’m not going to say any of those things, I know better,” and presses their lips together.

For a brief second, Calum is afraid that he’ll be sent back to the waking world. That he won’t see this dark magician again. His fears melt away when the other magician’s arms wind around his waist and pulls them close together. It becomes heated quickly, like they both longed for this.

“No,” they rasp out, using their powers to push Calum back a few feet. “I can’t do this.”

“‘Can’t’ or ‘won’t’?” Calum should have expected this, but he’s still hurt.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” is the last thing Calum hears before he’s sent reeling back into the reality.

 

///

 

“Were you having a sex dream?” Michael asks in his Michael-way when he wakes up. “I could hear the moans from my room.”

 _And you say_ I’m _annoying_ , Anubis gives his input.

“Anubis says you can go fuck yourself,” Calum replies sweetly.

_I did not!_

“You didn’t answer me,” Michael gives him a knowing look. “What’d you dream about?”

“The magician, the one who’s possibly a host for a very malignant deity,” Calum groans. “They showed me their past.”

“And you ended up shoving your tongue down their throat? Calum, you sly dog! I’m so proud of you!” Michael laughs, which Anubis echoes.

“I wanted to show the kindness they were never shown in their lifetime,” Calum defends himself.

“Are you implying the magician is dead?” Michael stops laughing.

“I’m not implying, Michael. I saw their dead body, brutalised in the most heinous way possible,” Calum can feel the chills creeping in like the first frosts in the winter. “Their friends betrayed them for a sacrificial ritual.”

“But that can’t be the sole reason why they decided to turn against humanity,” Michael’s eyes are as sharp as ever.

“Their lover betrayed them,” Calum feels the icy fingers of the Serpent’s Shadow encasing around his neck. “Told them that he was using them for this one giant sacrifice.”

“There’s gotta be something else, Cal. You got betrayed by a dozen or two of magicians in last four years because you host Anubis,” Michael taps his chin. “Or is that circumstantial?”

“I think,” Calum begins just as an icy ghost of lips brush against his. “That magician doesn’t want revenge. They just want people to suffer and feel the pain, the hopelessness, and everything else they felt as they laid there dying.”

 _You aren’t as stupid as I thought_ , the icy ghost lips whisper against Calum’s lips before disappearing completely, like they weren’t there to start with.

 

///

 

This time, Calum has the intention of seeking the dark magician out as he meditates. It’s kind of hard to seek someone out in the astral planes when he doesn’t even know the other’s name but he can try.

“I take my words back, you _are_ as stupid as you seem,” the dark magician sighs. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I want the absolute truth,” Calum barely has the time to take in the beautiful scenery behind them. It’s such a waste. “You can start now.”

“Why I choose such places for our little dates, is that what you mean, Calum?” the other magician shakes their head, floppy curls bouncing everywhere. “I have a soft spot for you, that is all.”

“You have a grandeur plan of enslaving humanity and start that by starting eternal Darkness,” Calum gulps when the other magician starts taking steps towards him. “You want us to feel _everything_ you felt as your life drained away. Why? Why is that so important to you?”

“I don’t want everyone to suffer,” a dark grin captures the dark magician’s lips. “I wish to spare you, like my Lord does.”

“I think you and your scaly friend have different agendas concerning me,” Calum speaks his mind.

“True,” the other magician agrees. “My Lord wants you enslave you. Me, however, I want something else from you.”

Like a serpent, the dark magician glides forward and isn’t met by any resistance when he cups Calum’s face. They both know Calum’s darkest desires include getting a taste of the dark magician’s lips.

“Surrender to my Lord, Calum, and you’ll be rewarded handsomely,” the other whispers against Calum’s lips, words tasting like honey and desire. “ _I’ll_ reward you handsomely…”

“I almost pity you,” Calum whispers back calmly. “Promising me things you can’t keep just to have me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Cally,” the nickname alone forces Calum to bite back a moan. “I’m here because of a broken promise. I do not wish to stoop that low.”

“I think you stooped even lower if you want people to suffer just because you were betrayed,” Calum feels the icy tendrils of the Serpent encasing around him again. “Why can’t you fight to prevent that from happening?”

“If I did that,” the other magician whispers. “That means I found faith in humanity worth believing in.”

“Can you find that in me?” Calum feels the shivers going down his spine and it’s not from the Serpent’s Shadows this time.

“You’re just a passing interest for me, Calum Hood,” the other hisses. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I live in the astral planes. I don’t die. Already been there, got the fucking t-shirt.” Their anger only brings the temperature down. The summer scene at a meadow is absolutely wasted. “Once you die…”

Calum does a double take when he sees something in the other magician’s eyes other than insanity and thirst for power—hope.

“They did you dirty by killing you, but you have to open yourself and let someone in to heal that,” Calum puts a firmer pressure against the other’s lips, initiating the kiss.

The kiss tastes like everything he feels—confusion, determination, being lost, but most of all, hope. They can try to lie for a century how little they feel regarding hope, but it’s there as they kiss, hands exploring and mapping out each other’s bodies.

“I don’t want to lose this,” the curly haired magician whispers, the sound softer than a down falling onto the ground.

“You won’t have to if you come with me,” Calum whispers back. “You don’t have to suffer anymore.”

Calum sees a furious pair of serpentine yellow eyes before he’s shoved back inside his physical body.

 

///

 

Calum dreams about the magician.

More specifically, he dreams about the magician being tortured.

The magician’s ash-blond curls are obscuring their handsome face, but the burning flesh can’t be a good indication of how comfortable they are. He can see the slithering shadows keeping them in place, also not comfortable.

 _I gave you powers not to cohort with a mere magician I marked as my slave, Ashton,_ a hiss-like voice addresses the magician—Ashton. _He has weakened you, just like your lover did centuries ago. Men falling for old tricks, I guess I can’t expect much from you._

 _“_ Look, my Lord,” Ashton raises his head, and for the first time, Calum sees fear in those ever-changing coloured eyes. “He is merely a distraction since it’s been so long since I felt carnal desires.”

 _If that were the case, you’d have taken him already and set my plan in motion_ , the Serpent hisses, and Calum knows this is more of a punishment for him than Ashton. _Remember that once I reach the mortal realm, you won’t be needed much longer._

 

///

 

“His name is Ashton,” Calum gasps once he’s awake. “Oh gods, Ashton…”

 _Did you dream about him?_ Anubis prods.

“Yeah… or more like the Serpent wanted me to hear the shit he wanted to say,” Calum groans. “End of the world plans and whatnot… he’s been brainwashed by the Serpent. And tortured… for centuries and centuries.”

 _Doesn’t sound that ideal to me_ , Anubis contemplates.

“Ideal for what?” Calum cocks his head.

 _I know you have feelings for him, Calum. It’s dangerous for you to try to contact him again,_ Anubis sounds stern. _You gotta start sleeping with the protection spells._

“The Serpent will find a way to contact me. We both know he marked me,” Calum gulps.

And he so did not jump five feet into the air when the least expecting person just appears right before his eyes.

“Ashton?” Calum wonders if this is another trick the Serpent is playing.

“Ow, my body hurts all over,” Ashton grunts, wobbling as he tries to stand up. “Fuck, why is it so bright here?”

 _Consider the fact that you’re in the mortal realm?_ Anubis remarks helpfully.

“Wait, how do you know my name?” Ashton sounds puzzled, and that’s a cute look on the magician, alongside the tanned skin and wildly mussed ash-blond curls that reach just about his Adam’s apple.

“The Serpent made sure I’d see him torture you,” Calum comes to his senses and aids Ashton to his bed. ( _Wow, four dates and you’re already letting him in your bed? Calum, you sly dog,_ Anubis snorts.) “Why are you here? You said you lack the physical body to return to.”

“Considering they cremated my body during the ritual, yeah, that should be how it is,” Ashton’s hand rests above his heart, or where it should be for normal people, and Calum covers his large hands with his smaller one. “I don’t have a heartbeat.”

“You _are_ technically dead,” Calum deadpans. “Which makes me wonder why you’re here… it doesn’t look like you were resurrected by the big scaly thing. If you were in your spirit form, I wouldn’t be able to do this.”

Ignoring Anubis’ protests, Calum presses his lips to a surprised Ashton’s. Ashton hesitates for a moment before kissing him back, deepening it. Calum hears a sigh before Anubis leaves him alone and rolls on top of Ashton, whining low when the older magician nips at his lower lip. He ruts his hips against Ashton’s linen-clad cock, desperate for more. He can feel his entire body flushing as they rid themselves of unnecessary clothes.

“Gorgeous,” Ashton praises when he sees Calum’s flushed face. “Absolutely breathtaking.”

“Ash—”

His words are drowned by Ashton’s passionate kiss, a kiss that leaves Calum needy. With Ashton’s help, he retrieves the bottle of lube and slicks Ashton up. Before Ashton can ask him about the need of prep, he sinks down, enjoying the extra burn and stretch from the lack of prep.

“My little masochist,” Ashton rasps, eyes that perfect mix of honey-brown and forest-green.

Breaths hitching, lips mingled, Calum manages to work himself as he kisses his lover. He can’t help but gasp every time he finds his prostate. He locates and squeezes Ashton’s hand when he comes, a breath of ‘Ashton’ expressing everything he feels for the tortured magician.

“You give me hope,” Ashton whisper just as he fills Calum up, a shiver rolling down the younger magician’s spine.

 

///

 

Ashton scrunches his nose up when Calum says he wants to take a bath. The hazel-eyed magician gives Calum a puppy-dog eye and he almost falls for it.

“My ass is sore and I want warm water surrounding me,” Calum pouts.

“You can’t manipulate me like that,” Ashton argues, but scoops the younger magician into his arms and heads for the bathroom attached to the room.

 

“What was your former life like?” Calum reaches up with a soppy hand and tugs a strand of Ashton’s curl down just to release and watch it bounce.

“As normal as it can be back in 700’s,” Ashton chuckles, hopefully amused. “I… wasn’t the most law-abiding person. I joined the group of… certain people only because I wanted to travel the world and because I was selfish.” A dark look flashes through Ashton’s beautiful eyes. “I knew about the gods and magic, I just didn’t know how to tap in to my potential.”

“Okay, so your group of people convinced you they can help you with your magic?” Calum guesses.

“Yeah, but they only wanted it for themselves for their ritual. Now,” Ashton boops Calum’s nose. “I don’t really know what their ritual was. I just recognised the chanting once they started—”

Maybe the fact that eerie yellow covered Ashton eyes should have been an indicator, but being the lovesick idiot he is, Calum stays close to Ashton.

“Ash?” he touches Ashton’s face.

Big mistake.

The once-beautiful face is contorted with a sinister expression.

 _Oh, Calum, so naïve,_ black smoke billows from ‘Ashton’s’ mouth. _You didn’t figure it out, now did you? I needed a convenience to take a form in this place. Of course, centuries and centuries ago, when my apostles casted that ritual, they were supposed to put a spell on Ashton to keep him in a zombie-like state._

“ _You_ ordered Ashton’s death?”

 _Temporary technical difficulties,_ the Serpent uses _his_ Ashton’s body to shrug. _Now, Ashton doesn’t have a drop of god’s blood in him, so you must be wondering why I chose him. A lot of people could’ve been a candidate as good as him._

“I feel like you’re gonna tell me just to hurt me.”

 _He’s a naïve young man who believed in love. It was easy to whisper him false promises and lead him astray so he can become my servant,_ the Serpent cackles. _You humans never changed._

“You’re merely borrowing Ashton’s body,” Calum reminds the Shadow itself. “You can try to merge with him, but that will require his consent.”

 _Ashton you know doesn’t exist anymore,_ the Serpent tuts. _I am Apophis, do you really think I can’t take over some magician’s body?_

“Yes?”

 _If you thought Ashton’s_ love _for you would make him try to resist me, you are_ also _naïve_ , the Serpent sneers. _I can see what goes inside his head, Calum. He wants revenge more than anything._

“He said I give him hope,” Calum counters.

 _Things you do to deceive weak minds,_ the Serpent shrugs.

“Why would Ashton lie to me? Lying people got him into this mess. Lying people got him to _you_ ,” Calum snarls.

 _Why don’t you ask your friend, Anubis?_ The Serpent prompts.

 _He’s just saying bullshit to make you angry, Cal, don’t give in,_ Anubis, for once, says something useful.

 _Of course you’d say that, Anubis. You want nothing but your own survival, just like your father and other gods,_ the Serpent sounds amused. _You don’t want to be trapped inside this boy’s body when I destroy the world and shape it into my own, now do you?_

Calum sucks in a breath. He knows the gods are selfish, but Anubis wouldn’t be like that, right? After four years of this co-existence?

 _Like father, like son_ , the Serpent cackles.

Calum thinks hard. Anubis wouldn’t have chosen him four years ago in a godly tantrum. Ashton himself said that the Serpent wants the untapped power he has.

 _Can I use my untapped powers to stop Apophis? Is that why the Serpent wants me to bend to his will?_ Calum tries to connect the dots. _Isn’t there a saying ‘keep your friends close, your enemies closer’? By keeping me by its side, Apophis doesn’t gain much apart from another magician under his control… unless…_

 _“_ You’re afraid of me,” Calum smirks. “If you could, you’d destroy at a snap of your fingers—sorry, whip of your tail?—but you haven’t. You know I have enough magical prowess to put you back in your astral dungeon somewhere.”

Calum sees a flicker of panic in the Serpent’s yellow eyes.

Calum hated the fact that he had to learn hieroglyphs when he first started studying magic, but he’s _glad_ he knows more than enough now. He draws a few on the ground and repeats the incantation until there’s a red glow surrounding Ashton’s body.

“Hmph,” Calum huffs out as the Serpent glowers at him. “Go the fuck back to where you belong, asshat!”

He flings the energy towards the body, and after a violent clash of white and black, he waits for the smoke to disappear.

“Fuck!” Ashton, thankfully still in the mortal realm, curses as he comes to. “Being in my own body and not being able to do anything fucking sucks.”

“Well, looks like you’re here for an extended visit,” Calum giggles, flinging himself on top of Ashton.

“Normally, I’m okay with round two in the bathtubs, but the water’s fucking cold, and I’m freezing, babe,” Ashton giggles.

 

///

 

_A few weeks later_

 

“Luke wants to see your boyfriend—oh gods, that is _not_ a sight I wanted to see ever in my life!”

Ashton growls as Calum giggles, sliding his leg back down Ashton’s shapely leg.

“I’ve seen worse with you and Luke!” Calum huffs as his boyfriend kisses on top of his head.

“I’m still a mega-powerful magician, I love being me,” Ashton makes a fireball appear very easily.

“Well,” Calum rolls his eyes, dressing appropriately to see Luke. “Magic is stored in your soul, not your body, and gods, evil or not, cannot take a gift back once it’s given.”

“Mm, bet I can restrain you to bed without you being able to undo my magic next time we have at it,” Ashton bets.

“You’re on,” Calum giggles.

He thinks the cold, scale-like feelings on the back of his neck is just a weird bug that landed on him.

**Author's Note:**

> The cliffhanger gave me chills as I wrote it. xx


End file.
